Toy railway



Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention appertains to an improvement in toy railways, including both the track and the rolling stock thereof, and it has for its primary object to provide a novel electromagnetic drive having the electric power source and switching control carried by one of the elements of the train and connected in circuit with each other and with the electromagnet, in order that the track will not be electrified and the train may thus be operated without fear of shock or injury to the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide the aforesaid electromagnetic propelling means which is mounted on one of the elements of the train, preferably in the form of a locomotive, without any power transmission to the wheels thereof; the electric power source being carried, preferably, by a tender coupled to the locomotive.

Yet another object of the invention has to do with the provision of a track formed of an insulating material, such as a molded plastic, and a means mounted on the track to eiect an intermittent opening and closing of the circuit between the electromagnetic element of the propelling means and the electric power source, the circuit control medium being carried by the locomotive.

With these and other objects and advantages of equal importance in view, the invention resides in the certain new and useful combination, construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of the electromagnetic drive means and the wheeled frame of the locomotive on which it is mounted, the body of the locom-otive being shown in broken lines;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the electromagnetic drive means and of the wheeled frame of the locomotive;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the electromagnetic drive means and the electricv battery power source, the latter being housed within vthe tender of the locomotive which is shown in longitudinal section and the locomotive in outline; and,

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section, taken through the line 4-4 on Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, the body of the locomotive is indicated at I0 and its Wheeled frame generally at I2. The frame I2 is comprised in an open central rectangular portion I4 and centrally narrower end portions generally indicated at I6, the latter being comprised in spaced parallel elongated members I6a, one continuous with each of the side portions of the central portion I4, and cross connected at their outer ends, at

the front end of the frame as at I6b and at the 60 rear end ofthe frame as at IGC. J ournalled transversely in the end members Ita, inwardly of the cross connecting portions Ib, ISC, are axles I8 forl the Wheels 20.

Mounted horizontally within the open central portion I4, of the frame I2, is an electromagnetic coil 22, which is carried by an elongated laminated core 24, of a magnetic metal, which is, in turn, supported at its opposite ends between the parallel members I 6a; its rear end on .a cross member 26a, inwardly of the enlargement 38, and its front end on a cross member 26h, connecting the members Ilia at their outer ends. The core 24 is supported in parallel relation with respect to the track on which the locomotive is to operate and is to be shifted endwise on the cross members 26a, 2Gb, by means of a lever 30, which is pivoted, as at 30', to a lug 30", rising from the cross member 26h, and, as at 28, to the core, for purposes presently to be explained.

Mounted on the parallel members I6a, at the rear end of the frame I2 and insulated therefrom as at 32, is a pair of parallel contact members 34' and 34", of elongated strips of spring metal which have rear end portions 34a and 34h thereof upwardly, inwardly and obliquely angled into overlapping relation, with the overlapping extremities provided with opposed contact points 34o; one terminal of the electromagnetic coil 22 being connected by a lead 36 to the contact member 34. The end connection |60, at the rear end of the frame I2, is formed to provide a cylindrical enlargement 38 having a vertical bore in which a plunger 4|! is dependingly supported. The top end of the plunger 40 is provided with a head 42, of substantially frusto-conical form, which bears against the under side of the angled end of the contact member 34, while its lower end is of conical form, as at 44, for purposes presently to be explained.

Projecting rearwardly from the connecting portion I6c at the rear end of the frame I2, is an apertured coupling element 46 to receive a coupling pin 48 dependingly supported in a similarly apertured coupling element 50 projecting forwardly from the forward end of a tender 52 in which is housed the electric power source for the required energization of the electromagnetic coil 22, the source taking the form of a pair of dry cells 54 and. 56, having their central terminals arranged in a reversed order. Mounted on .the inner side of the rear end wall of the tender 52 is a bridging contact element 58, of flat spring metal angularly bent to have one of its end portions bearing against the central terminal of the dry cell 54 and its other end portion against the bottom end of the dry cell 56, substantially as shown in Figure 3. Mounted within the forward end of the tender 52 is a pair of spring contact elements and 62, the contact element 6l) bearing against the bottom end of the dry cell 54 and the contact element 62 against the central terminal of the dry cell 516. Extending from the contact element 60 is a lead which is connected direct to the remaining terminal of the electromagnetic coil 22, and from the contact element 62 a lead which is connected to the contact member 34", said leads being respectively indicated at 64 and 66.

As before stated, a track is provided and it is preferably made of a molded insulating material, such as plastic or the like, and, as best shown in Figure 4, it is formed with an upwardly opening longitudinal channel 68 centered between flat topped portions 10, constituting rails, which have their outer edge portions downturned to provide supporting flanges 12. Formed in the longitudinal center of the bottom of the channel 68 is a groove 14, in which is seated a continuous strip or bar 16, of a magnetic metal, which has its top side or edge formed to provide a series of relatively close spaced notches 18 over which the conical end 44, of the plunger 40, rides during the travel of the train along the track to affect the closing and opening of the contact members 34c and, consequently, the intermittent energizing and de-energizing of the electromagnetic coil 22. To aiect the required magnetic propulsion of the train along the track, the lower side of the end portions 24h, of the core 24, beyond the adjacent ends of the coil 22, is notched, as at 24', correspondingly with respect to the notches 18, of the track bar 16.

In operation, with a train made up on the track and the electrical connections' established between the locomotive and tender, as stated, it is to be set in motion by the operator forcibly moving the lever 3D, e. g. to the position shown in full lines, as in Figure 1, which will shift the lcore 24 in a direction that the train is to travel and so that the projections between the notches 24' will be moved closer to the rear sides of the notches 18, of the track bar 16, when, upon the energizing of the coil 22, the magnetic attraction between the latter will cause the train to travel in that direction and, contra, by moving the lever 30 to shift the core 24 in the opposite direction from that as in the first instance, the projections between the notches 24', of the core 24, will take positions closest to the opposite or forward sides of the notches 18, of the track bar 16, thus affecting a reversal in the direction oftravel of the train. With the movement of the train in either direction, the plunger 40 will ride over the notches 18, of the track bar 16, and with its rise and fall, it will alternately close and open the circuit on the batteries 54, 56, and the coil 22, causing the latter to be correspondingly energized and de-energized and the strength of the magnetic iield of the core 24 to be likewise varied. To stop the train, it will be halted by hand, as by grasping the lever 30, at a position that will allow the plunger 40 to come to rest over a notch 18, of the track bar 16,

In order to affect the operation of a train made up of the instant locomotive and its tender, by the magnetic effect produced by the energizing of the coil 22 with the current output from two or more dry cells, which may be of the flash light type, the locomotive, tender, and such other types of cars it may be desired to entrain, will be made as light as possible and, to such end, will prefeb-ly be made from sheet or molded plastic.

Having thus fully described my invention, it is to be understood that the words which I have used are words of description rather than of limitation and that changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made, without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention in its broader aspects.

What I claim is:

1. In a toy railway, a track formed of an insulating material, and a seris'of magnetic elements spaced along said track between the rail forming portions thereof, in combination with a car, an electromagnet mounted on said car, a source of electric power movable with the car and connected in circuit with the electromagnet, relatively movable switch elements on the car connected in circuit with the electromagnet and said power source, a vertically movable member mounted on said car and adapted to ride over said magnetic elements when the car is in motion to affect alternate closing and opening of said switch elements, said member gravitating to its lower position after passing over each of said magnetic elements, a core associated with said electromagnet and positioned relatively to said magnetic elements whereby the car is drawn along the track in the required direction of travel, and means for shifting said core relatively to the electromagnet and said magnetic elements to a neutral position to bring the car to a halt.

2. The invention as defined in claim l, with the said magnetic elementsconstituted in spaced projections formed by the notching of the top edge of a relatively narrow bar of a magnetic metal extending along the longitudinal center of said track, and the core of said electromagnet is horizontally disposed and has its opposite ends provided with several like projections formed in the same manner along the lower sides thereof.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, with the said track formed of a molded insulating material and provided with a groove extending parallel to and medially between the rail forming portions thereof, and said magnetic elements are constituted in spaced projections formed by the notching of the top edge of a bar of a magnetic metal seated in said groove.

4. The invention as defined in claim l, with the said switch elements in the form of a pair of flat strips of spring metal and said movable means constituted in a plunger dependingly supported on said car in line with said magnetic elements, said plunger gravitating to its lower position and acting to close said switch elements as it rides over each of said magnetic elements.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1, with the coil of the electromagnet horizontally disposed and having its core slidable therein, the core having a length to project beyond each of the ends of the coil and having its projecting ends provided with downwardly oiTset portions disposed in close proximity to said magnetic elements, and said core shifting means is comprised in a hand lever which also acts to shift the core in opposite directions to reverse the direction of travel of the car.

OTTO R. NEMETH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 964,498 Dean July 19, 1910 1,126,608 Woodrui Jan. 26, 1915 

